"𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙖. 𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣."

Meilani had felt pain a great many of times, especially after becoming a werewolf. She'd been through enough to know true pain . . . or at least that's what she thought until she suffered this heart break. The heart break of feeling a wall shoot up between her and Stiles and more than likely Scott who Meilani knew would be on Stiles' side. The side Meilani should be on, but found herself struggling to for some reason. Usually, Meilani would be the first one to be running at Stiles' side and taking it without thinking. However, this time, it was Scott that seemed to be the one running and . . . Meilani couldn't understand why her brain was having such a hard time believing anything.

Isaac had eventually let Meilani go from his embrace, brushing her tears away with his thumbs and frowned softly at her. She had sniffled and waved him off quietly, taking his hand and pulling him into the examination room where Theo and Liam stayed with a very weak and sweaty Hayden who had propped herself up against the wall across from the entrance way. Her hands laid limp at her side while she slouched back against the wall, a concerned Theo hovering over her as he tried to quietly assure her that they'll figure something out.

"Lan, you gotta do something," Liam pleaded from where he stood in front of Theo and Hayden, a desperate expression on his face as his eyes bounced between his girlfriend and his alpha. "She needs you. You can give her the bite, right?"

"I - " Meilani cut herself off, eyes flickering over Hayden's form with a deep frown. She knew just from her scent and her appearance that, with how weak she was, the bite not even help her. If anything, it'd probably kill her in the end. "No."

Liam scoffed to himself and stepped closer to Meilani and Isaac, not even noticing his alpha's red rimmed eyes or smell the sadness and confusion that wafted off her in waves. The scent alone had Isaac standing closer to her as he knew his closeness and touch helped calm her down enough to think. "What do you mean no?"

"She's too weak, Li. I mean . . . it can kill her. We don't even know what the mercury is doing to her in the first place. We don't even know if it's actually mercury. This cannot be the only way to save her life, Li. It can't."

"It saved mine," Liam argued, glaring at Meilani as if it would get her to change her mind. 

"That was different. You were hanging off a ledge."

Liam's jaw twitched as his eyes grew dark with irritation and anger. He jerked a finger in Hayden's direction as he snarled quietly. "You promised, Meilani. You said you would do everything you could."

Meilani huffed and gestured to Hayden herself with a small scoff. "Yeah, which is why I'm not going to do something that I think is going to kill her. I'm not killing anyone, Liam. You know that." She sucked in a breath suddenly as the air in her lungs zapped out of her and she wheezed quietly, trying to get the breath back. "There has to be . . . there has to . . ." She coughed weakly as her lungs squeezed harshly in her chest and she gripped onto Isaac's leather jacket sleeve as he quickly helped her to stand on her own two fight.

"Lana," Theo called, tossing the inhaler to Isaac to catch with a nod for her to use it.

Meilani took the inhaler from Isaac and took a puff from it, the air instantly coming back into her lungs again. She slowly pushed off Isaac and ran a hand through her soaked curls. "There's another way to save Hayden, Li."

Theo turned back to Hayden and squatted down next to her as she began to pant heavily, his hand gentle on her shoulder as his eyes snapped back to Meilani. "Yeah, well, I don't know what the statistics are for surviving a werewolf bite, but she's definitely not surviving this. We need to do something. Now."

The sun had come up fairly quickly along with the arrival of Melissa McCall, who Meilani had called in a frantic need of something. She'd been at work when Meilani placed the call and she had promised Meilani she'd be there as soon as she could with all the stuff she'd need to hopefully help out Hayden. She'd showed up two hours later with medical supplies and an IV drip and its stand. She flitted around the room with Liam and Meilani stood on one side of the metal table that they'd laid Hayden on while Isaac and Theo stood on the other side.

"What's that?" Liam asked, watching as Melissa took out multiple IV bags with a clear liquid inside of it. 

"It's called Chelation Therapy," Melissa informed, placing the multiple bags down on the table next to Hayden's still sweaty and weak form. "It removes heavy  metals from the blood. The problem is that this can injure the kidneys and Hayden only has one to begin with, so . . ."

Liam's eyes widened when he heard the audible gasp come from Hayden when Melissa placed the IV into her hand and his hand shot out to grip Melissa's wrist. "You're hurting her!"

"And you're hurting me," Melissa said gently, causing Liam to quickly snatch his hand back with a mumbled sorry.

"Guys . . . remember we're here to save a life.Not kill each other," Theo sighed, eyes bouncing from Liam and over to Meilani.

Meilani shook her head, chewing in the inside of her lip as she tugged Liam gently closer to her and away from Melissa so she could keep working. "It's just the full moon. We can feel it even during the day."

Isaac grimaced at the thought and scrunched up his face in distaste. "Yeah, and it's a Supermoon, too."

Melissa ticked an eyebrow as she continued to work over Hayden, eyes flickering around the three teen wolves. "What is that supposed to make you guys like super strong? Super aggressive?"

"Both," Meilani replied, tugging at the band in her hair to tighten the ponytail she'd haphazardly made to keep the wet - now dry - strands from in front of her face.

After that Melissa had shooed Isaac, Theo and Meilani from the examination room so she could have less teenagers breathing down her neck while she worked. Meilani had dropped into a seat in the front waiting room with Isaac and Theo on either side of her. She ran her hands over her tired face as she hadn't slept in nearly twenty four hours and she knew that she probably wouldn't be sleeping any time soon either. Even if she had the opportunity to lay down, she knew her racing mind would keep her up regardless. 

"You know we'll have to help him," Theo said after a long beat of silence between the three wolves.

Meilani slowly raised her head from Isaac's shoulder where she'd barely even noticed she did it, eyes flickering over to the back area where Liam and Melissa were. "Liam will be okay."

Theo chuckled softly, leaning his head back against the wall behind him and lolled his head to the side with raised eyebrows. "Lana, he's sixteen and in love. First love. You remember what that is like, don't you?"

"I still know what it's like," Meilani mumbled, eyes flitting to her hands in her lap as her heart ached harshly at the thought of Stiles. A feeling that was new to her as she'd only ever used to fill with warmth and ease at the thought of him. Now she felt guilt and darkness at just the thought of him. 

"All those emotions mixed with the Supermoon. Tonight isn't going to be good for him. We need help and I don't me with restraints or chains. I mean Malia, Scott, Stiles, Lydia. You need your pack, Lana. There's only so much you, Liam, Isaac and I can do tonight by ourselves. 

Meilani shook her head as she chewed the inside of her lip anxiously, Isaac's hand dropping to her arm gently and relaxing her the tiniest bit. "I'm not really sure I have much of one anymore, Thee."

Theo licked his lips as his eyes flickered from Isaac's impassive face and over to Meilani. "I can try to talk to them. Let me see what I can do. Okay?"

Meilani offered him a small, thankful smile as he pats her knee and pushes up from the chair, walking out of the animal clinic and leaving Isaac and Meilani alone in the waiting room while they waited for Melissa to finish. She sank lower in her chair with her frown back on full display and she propped her cheek on her hand with a small huff.

"It's going to work out, Lans. I know it will," Isaac promised, rubbing her arm soothingly with a sigh; hating the dark feelings Meilani currently felt that he felt as well through their mate link. His eyes flickered over her form in worry and he squeezes her arm. "Just give it some time, yeah?"

Meilani nodded silently as her tired eyes drifted back over to where Liam and Melissa were with Hayden. It was quiet between the two for a long moment until Meilani's phone chimed with a text from Theo. She groaned and pulled it out from her pocket, freezing when she saw that Theo had texted her about the Beacon Hills High School brick sign being crashed through the roof of the school and laying dead center in the hallway. She showed the text to Isaac and the duo exchanged a silent look, both of them filled with confusion and another set of a million unanswered questions that they now had.

Noticing that Melissa appeared to be done, Meilani pushed herself up from the chair, dropping Isaac's hand from her arm and jogging into the room just as Hayden had asked for Melissa to call her sister, Valerie, who was a deputy on Noah's force. "Mom, I think I might know where Valerie is. Theo just sent me a text about the high school. He said there's cops everywhere. Might be another Chimera."

Hayden's head weakly turned to Meilani, her skin pale and sleek with sweat as she breathed heavily. "My, um . . . my sister . . . I don't want to die without my sister."

"I'll get her, Hayden," Meilani promised, squeezing the girl's hand gently.

"Lan, what will you even tell her?" Liam questioned with furrowed eyebrows, his hand stroking gently over his girlfriend's hair from where he stood near her head.

Meilani slapped her hands to her sides with a shrug. "Tell her everything if I have to, but I'm gonna get her here for Hayden. Whatever it takes."

After making Isaac stay with Liam and her mom to make sure Hayden stayed breathing, Meilani hopped onto her bike and sped towards the high school. She swerved in between the mid-afternoon traffic and barely had her bike thrown into park before she rushed inside the high school. She'd come to a dead stop when she saw the brick sign thrown into the middle of the hallway and shook her head just as a text from Lydia came in for her to come see her in the library. Flickering one last exasperated gaze over the destroyed hallway and sign, Meilani turned on her heel and ran her way over to the library which was empty the second she'd stepped inside.

"Lyd?" Meilani called out, voice echoing around the empty room as her eyes scanned around the area. She walked further inside, looking this way and that as she tried to catch her scent or sight of the girl's strawberry blonde locks, but came up empty. Her hand dug into her back pocket and pressed on Lydia's contact to call her, the phone instantly ringing in the bookcases to her left. Following the sound, Meilani found Lydia's phone resting on one of the shelves in an empty section, her and Lydia's bright faces as Meilani clung to Lydia's back with the contact name MEI-WOOF was on display as she picked up Lydia's phone. Her eyes glanced around her for Lydia, but froze suddenly when she saw the black mountain ash lying in line at the other end of the bookcases. 

Cursing to herself with wide eyes, Meilani ran out of the bookcases just in time to see Theo stood with his back to her, finishing off the circle near the library doors. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she gripped both phones in her hand, eyes bouncing between the ash and Theo  who shouldn't have been able to hold the ash in the first place. "That's impossible."

"You're right," Theo taunted over his shoulder, blue eyes filling with mischief and darkness as he smirked at Meilani. "A werewolf shouldn't even be able to touch mountain ash."

"You're a Chimera," Meilani whispered, eyeing Theo hard as she licked her lips with a scoff. "I should have fucking known."

"You're looking at the first Chimera, baby. It's the coyote part you didn't notice. It's why Malia trusted me first, even though she probably didn't know it. You found the perfect word though, Lana, because a Chimera isn't just a monster with different parts. It can also mean something impossible to achieve. An unrealizable dream."

Meilani took a step forward, stuffing both phones into her back pockets as she shook her head. Her head spun with the new information and she hated that she'd even been so stupid to think she could trust Theo in the first place. "And they realized you?"

Theo lifted a shoulder in a half shrug, standing right near the edge of the mountain ash circle he'd created to trap Meilani. "They came close with me, but we can't all be perfect. We can't all be True Alphas like precious little Meilani McCall."

Meilani let out a threatening growl, charging at Theo. However, just before she could slam into him, Theo leapt to the other side of the circle and she was slammed back by the invisible force that surrounded the circle. She yelped as her body crashed back down to the ground, sliding along the floor until she smacked into the chair at the nearby table with a groan. "Fucking Hell," she breathed to herself.

"Damn. I felt that," Theo mocked with a wiggle of his fingers before he turned his back on Meilani and walked over to the small device on the outside of the library that they'd previously used to block the cellphones when they tried to trap the Dread Doctors. "No calls, doll face. No Isaac, no Scott, no Malia, no precious boyfriend of yours. You're just gonna have to keep that pretty little face in that library and see what happens next."

Meilani groaned as she pushed herself back to her feet and stumbled back over to the edge of the barrier as she dusted her jacket off. "What are you talking about? What's next?"

"The Supermoon, baby girl. Let the games begin."

Night had fallen over the town rather quickly and Meilani had been fighting against the barrier ever since Theo waltzed off to wherever it was he was going. She let out a yell of frustration as the barrier pushed her back again and she yanked the band from her hair, letting her curls tumble down around her face. "For fucks sake, Meilani. You've done this before. You just - you just gotta do what you did when you were saving Deaton and became a True Alpha. How hard could it be?"

Meilani bounced on her feet as she inwardly pepped herself up to rush at the barrier again. Kicking off from the floor, Meilani charged at the barrier and flung herself at it, only to be flung backwards and over the table as she crashed to the ground again with a moan of pain. She kicked the chair near her in frustration and propped herself up onto her elbows. However, Meilani froze when her eyes landed on the janitor's closet that was nearby and noticed no barrier over it. 

"Meilani, you're a straight A student, but you couldn't figure this out hours ago," Meilani huffed to herself, scrambling to her feet and throwing the door open to see the ladder that lead up into the vents that could lead her out of the library and towards the roof. She pushed herself through the vents and dropped down to the ground just outside the door that lead to the roof. The door flew open with a bang as Meilani took the steps two at a time and barreled into the brisk air outside. She charged towards the end of the roof but was bolted back the same barrier that mountain ash.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Meilani shouts in exasperation, throwing another fist only to be thrown back again by the invisible barrier. She stumbles and crashes to her ass as fumbles for the inhaler Theo had given her, the same one she'd been using all day as her lungs kept failing on her. She wheezed slightly from the familiar squeeze of her lungs and tried to take a puff but nothing happened. This happened several times before Meilani growled anomalistically as she crushed the inhaler in her hand, a purple mist forming out of the now ruined device. Her eyes widened as she dropped the inhaler to the ground by her knees. "Wolfsbane."

Lightning struck above as Meilani got back to her feet, startling when she turned to see Liam fully transformed into his werewolf side. She took a step back as Liam growled and circled her as if she were a piece of meat. "Did - did Theo let you in?"

"Did you lie to me?" Liam yelled at Meilani over the roar of the thunder above them, the strong wind blowing both of their hairs all over the place.

"I've never lied to you, Li! I can't save Hayden. At least, not with a bite. If you would just think about that for a second, Liam, you would know that I am right."

"I am thinking!" Liam snapped, claws curling as he continued to pace around Meilani whose eyes followed his every movement. "I'm thinking about alternatives."

Meilani blinked at the echo to his voice, noticing the way his anger was spiking the longer he stood before her. "Li, baby, listen to me. This is the Supermoon, okay? It's feeding into your anger and making you more aggressive."

Liam shook his head as he advanced towards Meilani, leaving only a short few feet of space between them. "It's making me stronger! You're gonna keep your promise. Even if it kills you!"

Meilani let out a squeak of surprise when Liam suddenly leapt at her and she gripped at Liam's shirt. She dodged his strikes with his fists and she gripped tightly to his arm, bending it behind him and holding him against her chest as she panted, abilities and body weak from the wolfsbane. "Liam, cut it out! You aren't going to save Hayden by killing me."

Liam let out another enraged growl before he snapped his head back, cracking it into Meilani's nose and causing her to stumble back stunned for a moment. He whipped around and got several punches into her face as he grabbed her by the front of her jacket and slammed her down onto the platform of the roof near a glass window leading down into a darkened part of the library. Meilani grunted as she fought Liam back, successfully getting him off her and hopping back to her full height just as he got back to his. However, what she didn't expect was for Liam to charge at her, tackling them both through the sun window, crashing right down together to the tiled floor of the library with a loud smack.

Meilani's air knocked out of her as Liam landed on top of her and hauled her back up, slamming her against the wall of the library with several more punches to her face before tossing her over the reception desk. She crashed onto her shoulder with a loud yelp of pain, groaning as a hot pain throbbed through her body. She stumbled back to her feet just as Liam leapt behind her, smashing a chair onto her back. Barely having a minute to react, Liam grabbed Meilani by the back of her jacket and slammed her down onto the table with a loud bang. He wrapped his arms tightly around her throat, thrusting up as he choked her. 

Meilani choked out a cough as she pushed them back towards the table behind them, elbowing Liam roughly in the side as he let her go with a howl of pain. She whipped around and grabbed Liam by the front of his shirt, but he was faster as he grabbed her again and threw her over the table again. Meilani rolled herself back to her feet as she got back up and leapt back up onto the higher level above Liam as panted heavily. "Don't do this, Liam. I can't let you kill me."

Closing her eyes, Meilani turned to the big bay window behind her where the moonlight filtered in through. She took a deep breath before she allowed herself to lose control to the moon and allow it to control her instead. Her body instantly shifted, anger taking over her whole form suddenly like a freight train before she's turned back to Liam just as he leapt at her again. She veered her fist forward that Liam effortlessly blocks and ducks and the two throw a few more punches before Meilani gets behind Liam and kicked into his back, sending him to his knees. 

Liam got back to his feet and grabbed Meilani by the lapels of her jacket, shoving her up against the window behind them. She growled as her foot shot out and sent Liam rolling down the steps, dropping to her own feet again as she watched her beta collapse at the foot of the steps. He leapt back up to his feet and grabbed the chair that crashed next to him, swinging it through the air at Meilani. She dashed forward, leaping over the legs of the chair and kicking Liam in the back again, sending him flying face forward to the ground again. She kicked off the table she landed on and flipped up onto the top level of the library as Liam growled at her from below.

"Theo is using you, Liam! He wants you to be the Alpha because he can't take the power from me. Only you can, but once you do, he'll take it from you. That's why he wants you to kill me . . . " Meilani rambled, eyes following Liam as her beta took the steps that lead up to where she was as she slowly backed up, trying to give herself more time to come up with a plan. 

"That's what you don't get, Meilani," Theo growled at Meilani, hands curling at his sides as he tauntingly strolled up the steps towards her. "I want to kill you. I want to!"

"Oh, just one day," Meilani complained quietly before she took off, leaping over Liam's head as he made his way up the steps. However, before she could properly land, Liam caught her by the back of her jacket and chucked her down the steps, sending her crashing into the bookcase at the end of the steps. She crashed to the ground with a pile of books as a pained whimper falls from her lips. 

Liam leapt down from the top step and onto her from the top, grabbing her and throwing again into the moonlight that filtered through the window. Meilani was able to fight Liam off her this time and sent him tumbling down the steps to the bottom floor again as she pushed down after him. Before Meilani could swing her fist forward, Liam grabbed her up by the throat and threw her at the steps, cracking her back with a sharp snap as the pain radiated down her spine. She pushed back to her feet weakly and went to charge at Liam when he gripped her again, flipping her over onto her back and crashing her through the table. It sent her crashing to the floor with bits of broken wood from the table as it rained down next to her.

Liam jumped on top of Meilani who covered her face with her arms, Liam's claws slashing and clawing into her skin as she cried out. Her weakened state left her unable to fight back as her arms slowly drooped back to her sides, Liam's claws not stopping just as the library doors burst open with Mason and Isaac's voices shouting for Liam. Liam froze, head turning as Meilani went limp beneath him, her chest heaving with heavy breaths as Isaac rushed over with Mason shouting at Liam that Hayden had died, losing the fight to the mercury inside of her.

Meilani barely felt Liam scramble off her or heard him leave the library as Isaac dropped next to her bloodied form, brushing her hair from her face. "Hey, Lans. I'm here. I got you," he whispered to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and helping her to her feet. She clung tightly to him as Mason jogged over to them eyes wide with worry as he checked her over while Isaac tried to ignore his own pain that he'd shared with Meilani as the alpha in his arms was more important to him than how he was feeling at the moment.

"Five minutes!" A voice thundered, snapping the three's attention over to the doors where Theo stormed in. "I mean, seriously. You couldn't have waited five minutes?" He growled as he slashed at Mason, sending him dropping to the ground before he kicked out his foot and sent a semi-weak Isaac crashing to his back and leaving a weakened Meilani standing on her own. "I knew I should have stayed. I should have made sure."

Meilani's eyes fluttered with an overwhelming exhaustion, covered in her own blood as she swayed on her feet. She fought hard against the darkness that wanted to overtake her and flashed her red eyes at Theo. "Because now you have to kill me yourself."

Theo's angered face appeared in Meilani's vision and he held up his claws threateningly. "They're all mine. Maybe not now, but they will come around."

"Not for you, pretty boy."

Theo let out an enraged roar that shook the room before he veered his claws forward and buried them into Meilani's middle, causing her to double over and red alpha eyes glow brightly. She couldn't fight him back with her weak state and she clung to his leather jacket as she panted through the pain, eyelids growing heavier and heavier. 

"They're not like you, Theo. They will never be like you," Meilani weakly whispered, choking on her own blood as it spat out of her mouth.

"Why? 'Cause I'm a Chimera?" Theo mocked in her ear, digging his claws deeper into her. "Because I'm not a real werewolf?"

Meilani wheezed as black dotted along her vision as her cheek fell weakly onto his shoulder as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force some strength back into herself. "Because you are barely even human."

Theo chuckled darkly before he pushed them forward, crashing Meilani down onto the steps and shoving his claw deeply into her with a loud squish before he twists harshly and pulls out. "I'll say goodbye to your precious boyfriend for you." He spat at her, backing up from her and turning to walk out as Mason and Isaac came back to their senses. 

Meilani's eyes fluttered as Isaac's screams for her echoed in her eyes, his face being the last thing she saw before her eyes shut and the world around her went black.

Meilani, admittedly, had never felt more shitty in her whole life. She wasn't sure how long exactly she'd been out or how long she'd been dead for, but she'd woken up to Melissa's tear soaked face hovering above her. The older McCall female had let out a cry of relief as she pressed her face to Meilani's chest, hugging her daughter's body close to her as she didn't even care about the blood that coated her from the action. Isaac laid nearby, slowly gaining his own strength back as Meilani came back to life slowly but surely. His hand rested in hers as he smiled a tired and weak smile at her, but it was still there.

Helping Meilani back to Melissa's car where they put her bike in the trunk, Isaac sat in the back with her as they drove back to the McCall residence to get Meilani cleaned up and patched up as her wounds still hadn't properly healed yet. They weren't even sure how long it'd be before Meilani would heal since she was so weak and Isaac had helped her up into her room the second they were back in the driveway. He'd excused himself from the two girls to get his own self cleaned up and allowed them some alone time that he knew Melissa had wanted with Meilani. 

Meilani sat on her bed, freshly showered with help from her mom and leant back against her headboard as Melissa dabbed alcohol at her cuts as Meilani stared blankly at her hands in her lap. She sniffled quietly, the tears long since dry but she still felt like she should cry some more if she even got any back. "I lost, Mom."

Melissa frowned softly, dropping her hand to the bed as her eyes flickered up to her daughter's saddened expression. "Sweetheart, every leader suffers lost. Sometimes more than you think is bearable."

"But I lost everyone, Mom," Meilani choked out, looking up at Melissa with red rimmed, swollen eyes as she sniffled. "I lost - I lost Stiles and Scott. I - Malia probably hates me. Liam almost killed me. I lost everything because I was so stupid. Isaac is the only one that didn't - that didn't lose his faith or trust in me."

"You'll get them back," Melissa assured gently, rubbing her daughter's knee comfortingly. "You have to, especially Stiles and Scott."

"Why would they even come back to me? I'm sure Isaac will see the error in his ways soon, too, and join them."

Melissa exhaled heavily and shook her head, brushing a wet strand of hair behind Meilani's ear. "Because Stiles is in love with you. Because your brother could never hate you for long. Because you're their leader. Even when a leader thinks they have nothing left to give, there is still one thing: hope. Give them all hope."

Hope.

Meilani hoped there was even any left.

𝙀𝙉𝘿 𝙊𝙁 𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙏 𝙊𝙉𝙀

AUTHORS NOTE

Welcome to the end of part one for NIGHT CHANGES, lads and lasses. It was a wild ride and it's only going to get worse as we go so . . . buckle up as we got more angst coming when we start back up in part two.